New Bedford physician arraigned on Medicaid fraud charges

FALL RIVER — A New Bedford physician who has been ordered to stop practicing medicine was arraigned Thursday in Superior Court on charges he illegally prescribed drugs to 15 patients and defrauded the state's Medicaid program.

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By CURT BROWN

southcoasttoday.com

By CURT BROWN

Posted Jan. 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By CURT BROWN
Posted Jan. 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

FALL RIVER — A New Bedford physician who has been ordered to stop practicing medicine was arraigned Thursday in Superior Court on charges he illegally prescribed drugs to 15 patients and defrauded the state's Medicaid program.

Dr. Michael A. Taylor, 61, pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance by Judge D. Lloyd Macdonald.

Taylor, who had an office on Acushnet Avenue, is charged with 16 counts of illegally prescribing a controlled substance, 12 counts of violating the Medicaid False Claims Act and three counts of larceny over $250.

He was ordered to surrender his passport, obtain the court's approval before traveling out of state and agree to continue not to practice medicine as conditions of his release. He agreed in December 2009 with the state Board of Registration in Medicine not to practice medicine, according to court documents.

The case, which is being prosecuted by Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, was continued to March 4 for a pre-trial conference.

The indictments allege Taylor illegally prescribed oxycodone, Percocet and medications containing oxycodone to 15 patients "not for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of medical practice," according to court documents.

Court records show that each of the 15 patients had at least one drug test which showed they weren't using the prescribed oxycodone.

"In the face of these negative compliance tests, Dr. Taylor continued to prescribe oxycodone and oxycodone-containing medications and other opioids such as hydromorphone for months without taking any measures to insure that the patients were using, rather than diverting the medication," court records said. "Dr. Taylor continued to prescribe oxycodone and oxycodone-containing medications to these patients until he surrendered his (Drug Enforcement Administration) license on Dec. 1, 2009."

The prescriptions written by Taylor for opioids after the failed drug tests and submitted to MassHealth by pharmacies constitute false Medicaid claims, according to court records. Taylor also billed Medicaid for a total of $8,769.74 and didn't see his patients when they came into his office for their prescriptions as is required by MassHealth regulations, according to court records.

He is also accused of billing $1,097.28 to Medicaid for office visits in January 2009 when he was out of state, according to court records.